


Alleyway

by TheAzureFox



Category: Library of Ruina (Video Game)
Genre: Blind Character, M/M, Smoking, So....., also i think this ship only works in an AUverse, college AU with canon-adherent tendencies, cults are bad, rip Denis's character, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27903409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: The son of the Index meets with the son of the Thumb in a college campus alleyway.(college AU)
Relationships: Denis/Yan
Kudos: 10





	Alleyway

**Author's Note:**

> As a note: Due to Yan's canon character in Ruina, I'm going to be romanticizing cults a little bit here in this short piece. Just putting this as a heads up bc I don't condone cults but if I'm going to be canon-adherent to Ruina I have to romanticize them a little ;;;

The scent of cigarette smoke.

Yan smells it before he even enters the alleyway, grimacing as he curls his mouth into a frown. Around him, he can sense that he’s departing from the safer parts of his college campus, wandering between corridors and alleyways with eyelids closed and with his bag dutifully slung over the white-and-gold of his puff jacket.

Honestly, he shouldn’t even be entertaining the thoughts he has in his mind right now. He should continue playing the part of a good preacher’s son, heading on his way back home where his family and friends will greet him, asking him to attend evening prayers and such. But he’s tired and stubborn - annoyed and in need of a break from their nagging - and so he finds himself chasing the comfort of something he finds most curious.

He steps into another section of alleyways, relying on memory more than anything to guide him. He’s come to this part of the campus more times than he can remember, but that still doesn’t stop him from bumping into walls or occasionally stumbling over an unexpected piece of trash that gets in his way.

Of course, sometimes he senses the obstacles before they become a problem - the sword-shaped cane he uses to get around has a purpose for being in his hands, after all - but often his recklessness gets the better of him and he misses yet again a piece of trash that sends him knocking his shoulder into a wall.

“You alright there?”

A deep voice rumbles with amusement, haughty yet just with a tinge of perplexing concern. Yan stiffens, inwardly chiding himself for the disgraceful misstep as he straightens, clenching his teeth as a hiss threatens to escape his mouth.

“I’m fine, thank you.” He responds with a huff, bringing his cane in front of him and leaning forward.

The person in front of him moves a couple steps forward, seeming as if he has stepped off a wall. The stench of cigarette smoke grows stronger, and Yan furrows his eyebrows, wrinkling his nose.

“You should really stop smoking, Denis,” Yan says to the approaching individual. “It’s not healthy for your lungs.”

There’s a laugh from the man in front of him. “Does the son of a cult leader-

“ _Adopted_ son,” Yan says.

The man pauses as if to frown. “Does the _adopted_ son of a cult leader really have any right to talk about my smoking habits? You guys think practically anything is a sin.”

“Not everything.”

“You’re right. Just drugs, alcohol, sex outside of marriage, not following orders from that mysterious leader of yours, and so and so.” 

There’s a sharp inhale of air, then the pucker of lips and the scent of smoke grows stronger. Yan furrows his eyebrows in disapproval, too distracted by the smell to realize Denis has gotten close to him. He can feel the man’s breath on his face, can feel his gaze upon him. Yan wonders what he looks like, what the man before him appears to be. What color is his hair? How is his leather jacket shaped? What is the expression on his face, how is Denis looking at him now, in this moment of uncomfortable silence?

“You claim to be such a good guy,” Denis says after a moment, “but you’ve been spending all your free time talking to me, a delinquent no-good who is one day going to take over your enemy, the Thumb mafia. Do you really have any right to preach?”

“Suppose not,” Yan replies in turn, finding the breath on his face a bit too searing for his liking. Even still, he doesn’t move away. “But someone from the Index has to keep an eye on your movements, do they not?”

“That’s the most stupid excuse you’ve given yet, Yan,” Denis laughs. “Just say you like hanging out with me and move on already.”

“I-.” Yan opens his mouth, then closes it. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m merely here because I can.”

“Sure, sure.” From the sound of Denis’s voice, it sounds like he’s dangerously close to grinning. “Tell me, does your family know you’re here?”

“…No. Does it matter?”

“What a shame. If something were to happen to you it’d be quite a shame.”

“But you won’t do anything.”

“Yeah, I won’t.”

Denis pulls away. Cold air embraces Yan’s face. He frowns, disliking being bereft of the man’s closeness. He steps forward, reaching out an arm-

And Denis connects his hand with Yan’s outreaching fingers, allowing him to grasp hold. Yan intertwines his hand with that of Denis’s, feeling the warmth seeping into his palm and admiring the surprise in Denis’s breath as Yan pulls him closer so that Yan can rest his head on the slope of Denis’s shoulder.

An awkward hand raises to rub circles into his back. “Family troubles?” The man guesses.

“I’m tired,” he responds instead.

Denis guides him towards what can only be one of the many stone tables randomly installed around campus. He feels cold underneath him as he sits down, head still stubbornly clinging to Denis’s shoulder.

“You’re not the only one. Capo Kalo has been running me dry lately. He keeps insisting I stay up until midnight practicing how to fight. Which is honestly quite a waste of time. Especially since I still can’t beat the son of the Index’s leader.”

Yan huffs, feeling the wood of the cane in his lap. “You can try,” he says. “But we both know my winning streak.”

“Don’t shove it in my face, bastard,” Denis laughs. Then, Yan feels a pressure on his head, feels something soft against his cheeks, and Yan indulges in the fuzzy sensation that accompanies such an action.

Denis rests his head on his, and there’s a moment of silence, of indulgence, of things that feel normal and of things that feel peaceful. Yan likes these moments, likes the warmness they provide him and the way his heart pounds with a happiness. His cheeks warm - an experience not uncommon in the presence of his enemy, friend, crush - and when Denis presses against him, Yan can feel himself sighing in contentment.

“Sometimes I want to run away.”

“Yeah?”

“From my family. I want to run away.”

“Why?”

“I want to do things my own way. No more rules, no more prayers, no more ‘do this and do that or you’re going to hell’.”

“So why haven’t you?” Denis pauses. “I could always convince Capo Kalo to take you in, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. But I just…Gloria, Esther, Hubert…I don’t want to leave them behind.”

“Your adoptive family, huh? They’re admittedly some nice folks…once you get past their zealot nature, of course.”

Yan scowls. “It’s not so bad, praying and all.”

“Sounds more like nagging, honestly.”

“Well, it’s certainly irritating.” He sighs. “It’s not that I mind all that but…I hate being stifled. Every day of every hour it feels like I’m being forced to sing the praises of the Index and act likeI’m the happiest person on the planet. It’s sickening.”

“You say that, but I’ve seen you at your church. You look so content, working there. Yet...you’re struggling, aren’t you? You want to believe in everything that damned cult of yours says, but you can’t find yourself agreeing with it.” Denis speaks as if he knows everything. Which is fair, because Yan’s already told him all this once before. “Maybe you’ll have one of those revelations or whatever. The ones that get you all hyped up about your faith and whatnot.”

“One day,” Yan murmurs. He nudges Denis’s head off of him, straightening his own. He then moves to slump across the coldness of the stone table, hating the lack of Denis’s warmth but finding his body too tired to care as his chin rests on the tabletop.

He feels Denis shuffle down next to him, feels the way the man’s cheek presses playfully against his own, and Yan can’t even offer up a rebuttal as Denis says, in a voice that’s warm and coaxing: “I want to kiss you right now.”

“So do it.” Yan mutters.

He feels Denis inhale sharply, as if surprised by Yan’s comment. But Denis is the type to follow through on his words and even more so with permission. Yan feels fingertips lift his head up from the table, feels his body guided upwards until there’s a mist of breath on his face and softness pressed to his lips. 

Yan feels his own wave of surprise, having expected Denis to do something less like kiss the back of his hand or even his fingers - the way Denis liked to do as if flirtatiously teasing - but to feel Denis’s lips press against his own sends a sudden wave of heat through Yan’s system. He reciprocates the kiss hesitantly, not knowing where or how to move. 

Denis seems to sense his shyness, for the man playfully bites his bottom lip and then pulls away, the taste of tobacco lingering in Yan's mouth.

“So I was right.”

“What?” He turns his head in the direction of the man’s voice. “About what?”

“You have a crush on me.”

He tilts his head up. “Who said that?”

“You started kissing me back, idiot,” Denis laughs. “Plus, it’s kind of obvious.”

“Not that obvious,” he mutters dryly.

“Well, I guess that’s true. I was kind of surprised you even let me kiss you, honestly.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it.” Yan acknowledges. “But it was…nice.”

Denis chuckles. “I’d be up for kissing you more often, if you’d let me.”

Yan feels a strange warmness invade his face. He fidgets, unsure how to handle Denis’s words, before he sighs to himself and dips his head.

“I would like that.”

There’s a smile in Denis’s breath as the man kisses him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Yan is canonically blind change my mind. 
> 
> Ever since the giant November update I will not part from this idea because honestly, I think it's cool AF if Yan is both badass AND blind and I think it'd also be cool if he uses his giant ass sword as both his weapon and also a cane (considering how much he leans on it, after all).
> 
> Also ik Denis feels OOC but I can't honestly recall much of his personality being anything beyond hostile and loyal to the Thumb so I've kind of...assumed he got offscreen development w/ Yan here and tried to kind of fiddle with what his personality could be


End file.
